Apple Confirms They Are Collecting Pedestrian Map Data

Last month a photo shared on Twitter revealed what appeared to be an Apple employee walking around the streets with various sensors on his back, which was presumed to be part of Apple’s efforts to improve on Apple Maps by collecting mapping data on a pedestrian level (as opposed to driving around and collecting data).

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It seems that Apple has since confirmed that they are indeed doing just that where they noted on its website that there are certain locations in the US in which in addition to vehicles used to collect mapping data, there will also be pedestrian-level gathering of information. Apple exec Eddy Cue had previously confirmed the company’s plans to rebuild its mapping data from the ground up.

Speaking to TechCrunch in an interview in June, Cue was quoted as saying, “We wanted to take this to the next level. We have been working on trying to create what we hope is going to be the best map app in the world, taking it to the next step. That is building all of our own map data from the ground up.”

Apple had huge ambitions for its mapping initiative when it launched several years ago, but distorted maps and wrong directions created a PR nightmare for the company, which ultimately forced Apple’s CEO Tim Cook to issue an apology over the mess, and also saw him recommend alternatives such as Google Maps which was to be used in the meantime.